Kagaribi (燎): The Shichisai Disciple; Shintomicho, Tokyo

Been a while since I’ve seen a Shichisai disciple open a ramen shop, but it seems like a few have graduated and branched out as three former employees now boast restaurants of their own. Kagaribi was the first that peaked my interest because, not only did the master train at Shichisai, he also worked at the old Japanese Soba Noodle Tsuta in Sugamo giving him quite the impressive resume. As a result, when the shop first opened, it was a bit difficult to secure a spot with reservations filling up on their TableCheck page as soon as a slot became available. Recently, the hype died down a bit and nowadays they do a hybrid system where reservations via TableCheck take first priority and those in the queue are seated first come, first serve whenever there is an opening. I arrived around 11:30 am and 4 were waiting in front of me. Two had reservations so they were promptly seated first and as the restaurant seats 6, the rest of us in the queue followed. As we entered, we made our orders at the ticket machine by the entrance. Important to note, the shops is a rare no cash establishment; be sure to have a credit card or Japanese mobile payment option handy.

I believe they have an English menu option on the touchscreen now, but honestly not super complicated as the shop is a one man operation so the menu is quite small. Starting from the top left and working left to right, Kagaribi serves a Shoyu Ramen, Ajitama (soft boiled egg) Shoyu Ramen, Yakibuta (chashu) Shoyu Ramen, Yakibuta Ajitama Shoyu Ramen, Tamagokake Gohan (raw egg over rice), Niku Gohan (chashu over rice), and Hakumai (plain rice). I saw photos online of their Niku Gohan that peaked my interest so decided to grab that as a side to the Ajitama Shoyu Ramen, skipping on the extra chashu in the ramen since I would get it with my rice bowl.

Since the master has no staff and he makes each bowl to order, I waited for the four diners in front of me to get their ramen before I was served. What make the process a bit more time consuming than other shops are the noodles which get a thorough hand massage before being cooked ala Shichisai, the shop the master trained at. All in all it was about 25 minutes until my bowl was ready, but this was worth every minute. Again, I got the Ajitama Shoyu Ramen so pictured here is that bowl. Each ramen comes with a slice of pork chashu, thick cut bamboo shoots, shira negi (leek), and negi (green onions) with this bowl having that add on soft boiled egg.

Soup here really exemplifies the master’s pedigree as it was a the perfect hybrid of Shichisai and Tsuta. Broth is exquisitely prepared using Shamo Rock chicken from Aomori, Amakusa Daioh chicken from Kumamoto, and Kuro Satsuma from Kagoshima. Master takes it a step further and uses whole chickens rather than chicken carcass so the flavors are a lot more chicken forward than other similar bowls. The broth is then combined with a five soy sauce tare and finishes with a generous heap of chiyu chicken oil to dot the i on this fantastic Chicken Shoyu soup. If I’m being completely honest though, this is a trending style that I’ve had numerous iterations of in the past year, so I personally would have liked something with a bit more depth, but if you’ve never had a Mizudori soup before, you’re in for a treat. I would say this is probably the best of the style in this area, albeit it’s not in the strongest ramen neighborhood, and worth every penny.

Noodles are classic Shichisai and these hand massaged strands are what got me excited to try this bowl. I loved the shaggy waves and chewy texture, but the way they cling the soup as you slurp them up is what I dream of at night. High hydration on the dough allows the master to really go to work on these noodles and I know it’s not the easiest to prepare so I was absolutely dumbfounded to know these are made in house. I can’t imagine the time and dedication needed to serve this everyday and I’m just glad I was able to enjoy them. Thin and snappy noodles have become the norm for this soup style, but honestly, this works perfectly and I would be pleased to see more shops try this combination.

Toppings are simple, but perfectly balanced within the bowl and honestly you’re really only here for the soup and noodles anyway. I would say the weakest component was the chashu which I would have liked a thicker cut of and the star attraction was the thick cut menma as the crunchy texture complimented the chewy strands. Egg has the oozing yolk that has becoms industry standard in the last few years and the negi added a nice touch of greenery to the dish.

Lastly I went in for the Niku Gohan, their rendition of a chashu over rice bowl. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth the price? Debatable. I think I would have liked more chashu in my ramen, but then I wouldn’t get the flame broiled char as you see pictured here. I think this is perfect if you’re feeling a bit peckish and this is the only meal for lunch, but if you’re hopping to another ramen shop after this, I would suggest skipping it.

I believe making reservations online costs a little under 400 yen which is a bit steep and unnecessary if you come on a weekday. Weekend is way more busy so I think it’s a sound investment if you’re looking to visit Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday. I came in the summer and the queue is in direct sunlight so bring a sunbrella if you have one.